Hi all!
I read MMM's blog entry 'Reader Case Study: Should This Man Claim his Freedom?' and made a comment about what drove me to leave my career in 2 months (to receive a voluntary redundancy), aged 42, with an adequate 'stache. I was encouraged to write about my case here in the forums in case it is of use to others. (Apologies in advance if I picked the wrong forum.)
I only started reading MMM a couple of weeks ago (not being a follower of financial blogs - I even had to look up 'FIRE' before making this entry to see what it meant), but read all of MMM's entries over a couple of days.
I've been fortunate to have done most of what he recommends since I left university, having read Richest Man in Babylon, Millionaire Next Door, and more importantly, possessing some grasp of compound interest.
I saved about half my net salary ($100k gross) bought a large but not expensive house but have always had housemates to help pay it off quickly, and shoved any savings since then into the sharemarket (as a diversified share portfolio). I didn't bicycle as much though, as I preferred my motorbike.
I have about $1.8 million in assets (including equity in my house) plus an indexed pension that will pay $30k pa for life. My partner is a fair bit younger than me and has just finished repaying her student debt, and wants to continue to work in her save the world NGO job, even though my savings could allow both of us to retire. I guess by choosing to save the world, she *is* retired.
On the 'financial accumulation' side of things where many seem to be preoccupied, the maths works. Spend less, save more, start early and let your little green employee dudes do their thing. It amazes me sometimes to think that of every dollar i've earned in my jobs, because of early saving and investing, i've kept every single one of them and more (obviously my grasp of compound interest isn't yet complete).
It's just like that dude in Shawshank Redemption with his minature pick - with enough time, a lot can be done. Mind you, it's worthwhile saving more so that you effectively have a bigger pick, as you don't want to spend too much time being raped by psychos in jail.
I haven't been particularly frugal either - overseas trips every other year (us Australians get 4 weeks a year), tennis a couple of times a week, eating out too often, and drink too much wine (and refuse to drink Banrock Station out of a goonie bag, sorry MMM).
In terms of the less important 'stuff', just to show that we're not ascetics, we have two cars including an (older) Lexus LS400, teardrop camper, soon to be sold motorboat, motorbike, home gym toys, nice (and numerous) fountain pens, travel and camping goods, and other embarrassingly indulgent stuff.
The stand out obvious thing is that we don't have kids. I wonder if my partner and I could be as frugal as MMM if/when we had/have them. However, I can see how having a F you/make work optional/financial independence 'stache will help in raising kids by giving you all of your time with them.
On the 'how much is enough' side of things, I remember spending most of a day creating a financial model of me living to 100. Had I known about the 4% rule, I could've saved a day.
On taking the actual step to retire, which goes to happiness/subjective wellbeing, the thing which I think MMM's blog provides most insight, I have gained great comfort in reading about what people say on their deathbeds (a bit morbid, but I find overwhelmingly insightful).
I noted what a study found as the common sentiments given by such folks. They wish that they:
*. had the courage to live life for themselves, rather than the life others expected of them;
*. hadn’t worked so hard;
*. had the courage to express their feelings;
*. stayed in touch with friends; and
*. let themselves be happier.
I’ve found that office work acts in many ways to suppress these desires. Had I expressed all of my feelings about certain of my coworkers, I am sure I would have been fired a long, long time ago!
Well, wish me luck in my shortly arriving Stick it to The Man life stage. If you have read this far, thank you for indulging me, and I hope that you might have found something useful in it.
Best,
TW